Life and Times

Exactly 20 years after releasing his brilliant solo debut, Workbook, Bob Mould summons his original indie-rocker voice — with great reward — on his ninth solo outing, Life and Times, on which he is joined by Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster. From the first acoustic guitar plinking of the title track, you sense that he’s done (at least for now) with melding his affection for dance-club music with guitar rock; on last year’s District Line, he continued toying with reverb and vocoder manipulation, but there’s nary a hint of it here. The title track is a stunner, building palpable tension and shifting from the soft to the loud before you notice: “Somehow you’re getting into my thoughts,” he muses, and he’s not happy about it. The set is perfectly paced, with rockers like “MM 17” and “Argos” interspersed with powerfully moody tracks like “The Breach” and “Bad Blood Better.” The grit and howl of “Spiraling Down” matches the needle-in-the-red levels of Hüsker Dü, and the single, “I’m Sorry, Baby ...” is pure heartwrenching break-up balladry. With scorching guitar work and Mould’s familiar, warm growl present throughout, one feels like an old friend is back; there’s not a bone to pick here.